NCEdCloud Single Sign-On Information (NC Only)

Ready to move forward with an integration? Complete our Integrations and Access form to begin the process. A member of the DE Technical Integrations team will be in touch.

Overview

The NCEdCloud IAM Service SSO (single sign-on) integration allows users to sign in to Discovery Education and access Discovery Education and DreamBox products via the NCEdCloud IAM Service portal or nc.discoveryeducation.com. Staff and student user accounts are imported into Discovery Education from the NCEdCloud IAM Service on a regular basis.  

Requirements

1. All schools that subscribe to Discovery Education services must use the NCEdCloud IAM Service.
2. All staff and students exist within the NCEd Cloud IAM service. Only staff and students that exist within the NCEdCloud IAM Service will have access to Discovery Education.
3. Staff accounts within the NCEd Cloud IAM service have email addresses listed.
4. The State UID number is listed for staff and students on their Discovery Education profile (Teacher ID and Student ID fields).

All requirements must be confirmed to proceed with NCEd Cloud Single Sign-On.

User Experience

Once the NCEdCloud IAM Service integration is launched, users will sign into Discovery Education by signing into the NCEdCloud IAM Service and clicking an icon for Discovery Education, or navigating directly to: https://nc.discoveryeducation.com.

Once the NCEdCloud IAM Service integration is launched, users will no longer be able to sign in via: https://www.discoveryeducation.com. Any previously saved hyperlinks that are not configured for SSO will prompt users to sign in directly to https://www.discoveryeducation.com, which will no longer work. We recommend implementing two options in this case:  

1. Update existing hyperlinks with the NCEd Cloud SSO subdomain:   https://www.discoveryeducation.com should be updated to https://nc.discoveryeducation.com  
2. Advise users to sign in via NCEd Cloud before using saved hyperlinks.  

How it Works

Users are authenticated into Discovery Education via NCEd Cloud, provided that usernames in Discovery Education are in the required SSO username format. 

The Discovery Education NCEd Cloud SSO username* format is:  <State UID number>@nc.discoveryeducation.com *This username is never known by the end user.

Steps to Implement

Step 1: Ensure the state UID number is listed for staff and students on their Discovery Education profile (Teacher ID and Student ID fields).

In order for existing Discovery Education user accounts to be configured properly for the NCEdCloud IAM Service SSO, the state UID number must be listed on their profile under the Teacher ID or Student ID field. The existing Discovery Education user accounts can be exported to review by:  

1. Sign in to Discovery Education with an Admin user account.
2. Navigate to My Admin > Bulk Import > Update Rosters.
3. Export the Teacher Roster and the Student Roster for all schools.
4. Confirm the correct State UID number is listed in the Teacher ID and Student ID fields respectively.
5. If any changes or additions need to be made, enter the correct data in that field, save the .csv and upload the file on the Bulk Import page. (Be sure not to change the username field).

If assistance is needed on this step, please let your Discovery Education technical integration agent know.

Step 2: Ensure proper user data is within NCEdCloud IAM Service.

Only users that have accounts within the NCEdCloud IAM Service will be imported into Discovery Education. Please ensure that all staff accounts have email addresses listed within the NCEdCloud IAM Service.  

Step 3: Request SSO.

Complete our Integrations and Access form to begin the process and member of the DE Technical Integrations team will be in touch. 

Step 4: Confirm with NCEdCloud IAM and IdAuto that data can be released to Discovery Education.

Discovery Education must be given permission to receive the state data. Once the agreement is returned, you will be prompted to email the confirmation to all parties.  

Step 5: Determine the Launch Date and test the SSO authentication.

The Launch Date will be the day that users are configured for NCEdCloud IAM Service SSO. After this date, users must log in with one of the methods described above (User Experience section). Please notify all parties of the desired Launch Date. We recommend launching on Friday evenings. One (or more) users can be configured manually for SSO to confirm successful authentication.  

Step 6: Notify users of new login method and Launch Date.

Users must be notified of the Launch Date and new login method, since this will break the way they have traditionally logged into Discovery Education.  

Step 7: Launch.

Existing Discovery Education user accounts will be configured to use the NCEdCloud IAM Service SSO at 7pm ET, the work day before the Launch Date. For Example, a Monday launch date would be configured on Friday at 7pm ET.  The icon within the NCEdCloud IAM Service will appear as well.  

Frequently Asked Questions

A: After the NCEdCloud IAM Service integration is launched, users will sign into Discovery Education by signing into the NCEdCloud IAM Service and clicking an icon for Discovery Education, or navigating directly to: https://nc.discoveryeducation.com.  

A: NCEd Cloud SSO is free and there is no agreement required. Complete our Integrations and Access form to get started. 

A: This will vary greatly between districts. After the agreement is signed and existing DE users are prepared, then NCEd Cloud SSO can be launched. 

We recommend launching on a Friday, at least two weeks after the agreement is returned and communication to users* has begun. *Communicating to users about the new sign in method will be critical to a successful launch.

A: Teacher accounts will be mapped to their NCEd Cloud accounts based on matching email addresses or Teacher IDs between the two systems. Student accounts will be mapped based on matching Student IDs. If users are mapped successfully, then all saved work will remain intact. Please contact Discovery Education to discuss a launch plan for your district.